You Can't
by COBbabygirl89
Summary: A little late, but So...Good Talk doesn't happen. What happens when Lorelai hangs out with a new guy and Luke thinks it's a date?


This story takes place during Luke and Lorelai's breakup. So…Good Talk never happened. It's been two and a half months since the break up and Lorelai still sulks.

Lorelai walks into the kitchen of the Dragonfly Inn to talk to Sookie and get her java fix because Weston's coffee just isn't good enough anymore. She walks in very tired in and not in the mood to have the conversation that is about to take place.

"Good morning, Lorelai." Sookies perkily says.

"Hey. Is there coffee?" Lorelai responds in a very exhausted tone."

"Help yourself."

"Good cause I haven't had a drop this morning." She droaned

"No Westons?"

"I'm sick of the replacement coffee, it stinks, I miss my old coffee."

"Oh, _his_ coffee."

"Sookie, please don't do this. I'm tired, Rory and I haven't had a real conversation in three days, I don't want to review how I once again, destroyed a beautiful relationship I had with a great guy." Lorelai begged.

"I'm sorry" Sookie apologized.

"I also don't want sympathy but thanks anyway."

"Okay." After a few minutes Sookie remembered the favor Jackson had asked her. "Hey, you know what you might enjoy doing?"

"Breaking my ice-cream eating record tonight?"

"No. Jackson's old friend Jim from high school is moving to Stars Hallow and he needs a tour."

"Ok I can arrange that."

"Well he's also just starting to get over his divorce that happened about a year ago and Jackson thought maybe you could show him around."

"What?"

"Please? Jackson really wants him to feel welcome. He says Jim hasn't really been very social and you are so easy and fun to talk to that he thought maybe you could help.

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm too busy." Lorelai quickly got out.

"Yeah right. The next big event here isn't for six weeks and everything is already in line. Michel can greet the guests for one or two days."

"Still, no!" she said sternly.

"Come on then why not?" no response "Oh no you're still not over it. It's been over two months, you can't just wallow you're life away."

"I'm not wallowing my life away." Lorelai defended.

"Well then get back out there. You got back out there faster after Max."

"Because you made me, and Paul was way too young. Kirk printed pictures and the town mocked me for a month."

"But it got you back out there."

"Yeah, I guess it did." She admitted.

"Soooo…" Sookie pleaded hopefully.

"Ok, I'll show him around for a few hours."

"Great!" Sookie clapped. "He'll be here next weekend.

That dreaded next weekend came and Lorelai painfully sat in the gazebo waiting for her "date" nearly crying until she saw him coming and wiped away her tears.

"Hey I'm Jim." And he extended his hand.

"Lorelai."

"This is awkward." He said bluntly.

"Very."

"So how about we just walk, you can point to the stores, tell me what they are and I'll just ask random questions."

"That's what most new people do."

"Okay."

They began at the north end (when you watch the show up near the church is where I'm referring to.) then swiftly made there way south towards the school. The conversation had been very easy, just describing things, how insane Taylor is, to be very scared of Patty and Babette's cheek pinching power. It was fun and both were enjoying themselves and both were thinking that he other could make a good _friend_. Unfortunately when they passed the diner, Jim got the sudden urge for a cup of joe.

Looking in the window but seeing the William's hardware sign confused Jim until Lorelai explained that it used to be a hardware store.

"That's interesting, sounds very old fashioned." Jim said casually.

"Yeah it is." She said softly.

"You like coffee?"

"Oh no it kills you." She quipped.

He laughed and smiled. "Well do you mind if I get some?"

"Oh no, go ahead." He opened the door and began to go in, until he noticed that Lorelai was standing still as a statue.

"Are you going to come in, or is there a force field around this place?"

"No, no force field I just don't feel like going in right now." Jim accepted her excuse because he used to use the same excuse when he didn't want to be social right after his divorce.

"I'll be back in a minute."

"Kay" and he went in to get the hot life liquid she once loved.

A few minutes later came back outside with a large to go cup she could smell from several feet away. They continued walking until they circled around the town square once and then sat back in the gazebo.

Meanwhile in the diner, Luke was staring intently out the window with the mysterious man that Lorelai had been walking around with. He still couldn't understand why she didn't get any coffee or have her "date" get some for her. Then it hit him, she was on a date. That meant she was over him and ready to find another guy who could make her laugh and smile. This felt worse than when he simply thought she wouldn't go out with him and just watched her with other guys and thought about what it would be like to be with her. But this was different. He knew what it was like to be with and it was incredible. He was so happy, even when she talked through movies and named the furniture. It was amazing that a woman that had been through so much could be so happy all the time. He just couldn't let anyone else have that, not after he knew what it was like for only 4 months. He watched them have conversation but not hearing the dialogue, he took it completely out of context.

"I've had a great time today." Jim thanked her.

"Me too." She responded. Jim gave her a hug and an innocent kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Lorelai said as she touched her left cheek softly with her hand.

"I'm Italian, it's what you do to show compassion."

"That was really sweet." She smiled shyly.

"No problem. I think I'm gonna like it here."

"It's a crazy place but its home." The stood there a beat until Jim brought up something Lorelai never would have guessed he knew.

"Luke is your ex isn't he?"

"What? How could you know that?" She questioned

"You wouldn't go near him, and he was staring out the window at you the entire time he was pouring my coffee."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry." They both looked at their feet until Jim quietly walked away.

Lorelai simply sat on the bench and thought about everything she had lost when Luke broke up with her. Her spirit died, no one was there to make her feel better, and the only coffee she could have, tasted like battery acid. Then one large tear came cascading down her cheek as her breaths became shorter.

Just then a very determined looking Luke came up to Lorelai almost in a bind rage and simply started lashing out.

"What are you doing!"

"What?" Lorelai quietly asked picking up her head from her sobs.

"You're just going out with strange guys again?"

"No!" she cried defensively.

"Then what were you doing strolling around with this guy, and don't thing I didn't see him kiss you."

"Hey!" She screamed directly in his face now completely furious. "One, you broke up with me so don't be all pissy about me dating. I don't lye around and sulk for a year when I get dumped. Two, is wasn't a date, he's Jackson's friend that's moving here and needed to be shown around. Three, it was a kiss on the cheek to thank me for showing him around all day!" She shouted so that nearly the whole town could hear.

"Oh." Luke replied, now very embarrassed.

"That's all you got? 'Oh.' You said you wanted out and I gave you your out. You can't make decisions for me or with me anymore. We are no longer a team."

"That's really what you want?" He asked curiously.

"What? Hell no, it's what you wanted."

"You thought I wanted that?"

"You dumped me!" She shouted.

"I just wanted time and I was upset. You know when I'm upset I say stupid things and then a few hours later I realize how stupid I was. It's just like the boat." He exclaimed.

"The boat was completely different." Lorelai rationalized.

"Yeah you gave me time and we stayed together."

"Well this time I gave you all the time in the world!"

"We wouldn't even be here if you hadn't finalized the breakup!"

"Finalized? Hate to say it Luke but we were married, we didn't go through divorce court."

"You called me your ex-boyfriend!"

"So? You are my ex-boyfriend."

"But when you said that you said it was over. Well maybe I didn't want it to be over!"

"Well if you didn't want it to be over you should've done something."

"Fine I will!" And with that Luke swiftly put his hand around Lorelai's waist and pulled her into him for a long, deep, passionate, kiss. Lorelai didn't realize what was happening until Luke put his tongue into her mouth and she began to respond to the kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck. They remained that way a solid 30 seconds until oxygen became very necessary. The broke apart simultaneously and slowly.

"What was that for?" Lorelai asked completely out of breath.

"That was because I miss you."

"Well this…." She kissed him with every sense of feeling she had and then finished her sentence with "is because I love you."

"I love you, too" He whispered and then kissed her softly.

"You wanna go back to my house before some one gets a camcorder?"

"Gladly."

They walked away hand in hand to her house for the best part of the make up.


End file.
